WHAT IF… JAPAN HAD NOT STRUCK PEARL HARBOR?

What would have happened if Japan had not struck Pearl Harbor?

History would have turned out very differently. For a start, it would mean Japan was not going to expand its empire into Southeast Asia – because that is what provoked Pearl Harbor. Instead, they would have been concentrating their war efforts solely in China, which was a conflict that began in 1937. Now, China proved to be more than Japan could chew in diplomatic and military terms. Plus, the USA had its own interests in China and that was what, ultimately, set them to war with Japan.

The USA had imposed a trade and financial embargo against Japan. As a result, Japanese financial assets in the USA had been frozen and they did not have the means to buy anything from abroad. So to avoid Pearl Harbor, Japan would need to do something to accede to American demands – including pulling out from China.